Inside Unmanned Systems

APR-MAY 2018

Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.

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62 April/May 2018 unmanned systems
inside
U
nmanned flying systems—'them drones'—
continue their inexorable march toward
world domination. One can hardly attend
a fashion show, political summit, sports
event or high-tech trade fair without bumping
into one.
We found Airbus showing off its new blimp-
like ALtAIR drone system at a perfectly likely
venue, the 2018 Unmanned Technologies &
Security Expo & Conference (U.T.SEC) in
Nuremberg. "We are here to present our new
airship system," said Michael
Rappsilber, Airbus system and
test engineer, "The one you see
above you right now is actually
just for demonstration; it's about
one-third the size of the actual op-
erational ship."
The full-scale ALtAIR drone
is about 11.2 meters long and
about 27 cubic meters in volume.
"It fits into a 40 foot container,"
Rappsilber said, "so it's easy to
transport by truck to your target,
which could be a big demonstra-
tion at a G20 summit, or a disas-
ter site, the scene of a f lood.
"You can place a five kilo pay-
load, like a camera." In this case,
Drones show up in Bavaria
Peter Gutierrez, Inside
Unmanned SystemsÕ
European Editor, has
written about the
continent's evolving
science and technology
landscape for many
years. He has covered
transport, space policy and
environmental issues from
his home base in Brussels
and reported extensively on
satellite-based navigation
including the GPS, Galileo
and EGNOS programs.
IN BRIEF
Drone interests
took center stage
recently at two events
in Bavaria, with a
focus on security
applications and
regulatory matters.
the camera is by UAV Vision in Australia. "This is
not a drone for transporting something, it's really
more for when you have an area or situation that
you want to survey." The system includes a tar-
get tracking function, so users can place a virtual
marker on a specific person in a crowd and the
airship will follow that person.
"This year we are implementing an autopilot
system," Rappsilber said, "so it will be able to
f ly autonomously. And the camera will com-
municate directly with the autopilot, so if, for
example, a person you are track-
ing hides under a tree the airship
can, by itself, change its position
and altitude to find them." All
data is georeferenced, so users
can see the target and get a pre-
cise location.
"Up to now we have been sell-
ing the service only," Rappsilber
said, "but starting from next year
we will be producing the system
in numbers, so customers will be
able to buy the whole system."
The advantages of an airship
versus, for example, a rotor-
wing unmanned aircraft system
(UAS) comes down to safety and
the ability to operate within ex-
BRUSSELS VIEW
on
Drone Advances,
Slow Rules
by PETER GUTIERREZ
"SO THERE IS A NEW
REGULATION BEING
DRAFTED. IT'S AIM IS TO
UNIFY THE REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK FOR UAS
OPERATIONS, AND IT WILL
INCLUDE THOSE BELOW 150
KILOGRAMS."
Dominic Hayes, manager of Galileo
and EGNOS signals and frequencies
at the European Commission
Photos courtesy of Peter Gutierrez.